Eutility's weekly news

Woodside CEO: Gas crisis to worsen before improvement

Woodside CEO: Gas crisis to worsen before improvement

Woodside Petroleum chief Peter Coleman says the east coast gas crisis is likely to get worse before it gets better and risks damaging the reputation of the whole Australian oil and gas sector in the eyes of the community, investors and LNG customers.

But the Perth-based Woodside boss — who said the east coast was one of the few places in the world without gas reservation or a national interest test — added there was now the opportunity to reset the policy framework with one that would prevent the nation’s energy endowment being squandered, something he said had been sorely lacking since the demise of east coast state statutory bodies.

With Woodside-operated LNG plants in Western Australia (the North West Shelf and Pluto) selling the equivalent of 20 per cent of east coast demand to spot or short-term markets, Mr Coleman said the company was looking at opportunities to supply replacement WA LNG cargoes for Queensland’s LNG projects, if it would ease pressure on east coast domestic markets.